Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

Although it is possible for ants to kill humans, the possibility is so small that it can almost be ignored.

Instead of asking Rachel to believe that it was Donald, the one-eyed man, who killed the previous hero, it would be better to let her believe that the previous hero accidentally tripped over his left foot and fell to death when he went out, and Donald happened to pass by and picked up the body.

But if that’s the case…

Lacey frowned:

"Then why did Donald claim that he was the one who killed the previous hero?"

This time it was not Lao Deng who answered her, but Charles.

"For the Holy Sword," he whispered, "Victoria needs the complete Holy Sword."

After a brief pause, he gently stroked the hilt of the holy sword and continued:

"No matter how they got the fragments of the holy sword from Uncle Elvis, in short, they created a steam armor that can use forbidden spells by studying the fragments of the holy sword."

"But I guess their technology is not yet mature, or they did not obtain the complete forbidden spell from that part of the holy sword fragment. That's why Donald told me that he killed Uncle Elvis..."

"That's probably a provocation," Ciel looked up at the Lord of the White Tower, "He wants to trick me into going to Victoria for revenge, right?"

Lacey beside him thought of a new question:

"No, if that's the case, then the One-Eyed Dragon can just tell you the truth and then negotiate with you openly..."

Charles shook his head.

"No, he can't."

"……Why?"

"Because I am here," Lao Deng helped Charles answer, "because... no wizard would want the holy sword to fall into the hands of Victorians."

As she spoke, her expression became more complicated and she sighed:

"—even our White Tower."

[To be continued]

-

11. Have a killer trick

"Even we in the White Tower do not want the Holy Sword to fall into the hands of the Victorians."

Lao Deng repeated this sentence and then added:

"Especially now that we know that the Victorians have the technology to crack the holy sword, extract the forbidden spells that belong to the brave warriors of all generations, and equip them to the steam armor..."

Her expression became serious, mixed with a hint of subtle self-mockery, and the Lord of the White Tower told the witch and the hero:

"I have to admit that old Donald is right. We mages may be a little too arrogant when facing the Victorians."

Lacey was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked:

"Huh? Why?"

"Because we are indeed high above." Lao Deng tightened his grip on his staff and answered in a low voice.

The self-mockery on her face quickly expanded and gradually occupied her entire face, followed by fatigue:

"The White Tower did bring precious peace to mortals, but that was only the product of compromise between all parties. Even if the White Tower did not do it, someone else would do it sooner or later."

"No," she paused, then denied her own argument, "In fact, the peace that the White Tower brought to mortals... was also false."

The Lord of the White Tower turned her head involuntarily and looked at the scepter she was holding in her hand, which represented supreme glory and authority, and at the dazzling gem inlaid on the top of the scepter.

Then she said in a deep voice:

"Freedom and peace are never given by others, but must be won by ourselves - with enough strength, blood and fire, war and sacrifice."

"Donald is right. Even though the White Tower took the lead in drafting the "Tilin Agreement", and even though most mages approved of its contents, it was only the mages' sympathy for mortals, an arrogant pity."

"From the beginning to the end, mages and mortals have never been equal."

"Mages can sympathize with mortals, but they can also take back their sympathy and mercy."

At this point, Lao Deng suddenly changed the topic to another direction that the witch and the hero did not expect:

"Have you heard that Sheffield, the capital of Victoria, the city of steam and steel, recently added a building called 'Zoo of Beasts'?"

The hero shook his head, indicating that he had never heard of it.

He hadn't even heard of it, so it was even less likely that the witch, who was even less well-informed, had heard of it.

However, the name reminded her of a facility that she had seen so often in her past life...

"Zoo?" she asked subconsciously.

The Lord of the White Tower glanced at her, sighed, and nodded:

"Yes... but not completely."

"The Zoo in Sheffield was built by order of His Majesty Emperor Victoria himself. In that huge complex of buildings, there are rare animals and birds collected by His Majesty from all over the continent."

"The unicorn of Ceylon, the phoenix of Zhendan, the griffin of Kanoa...some even claimed that they had heard the roar of a giant dragon in the deepest part of the Garden of All Beasts."

"It is said that Emperor Victoria loves the Zoo very much. He often goes there in person to feed his pets and sometimes even bathes them when he is in a good mood..."

She suddenly paused, stared at the hero, and asked:

"I think you can understand what I'm saying."

The hero was silent for a moment and nodded:

"Ah."

Although the witch beside the hero was not asked the question, she vaguely guessed what Lao Deng meant.

Replace Emperor Victoria with a wizard and the captive exotic animals with mortals, and you can see what Lao Deng is talking about.

Emperor Victoria particularly loved those rare animals, so he built a magnificent zoo for them, and personally fed and bathed them.

And all this is based on the premise that those rare birds and beasts are willing to obey. If they are unwilling to obey and want to bare their fangs and show their claws to His Majesty the Emperor, the guards who are always waiting by His Majesty the Emperor's side will brandish whips or even raise their butcher knives.

It’s true that the emperor likes rare birds and exotic animals, but he only likes obedient rare birds and exotic animals.

Mages can have sympathy and mercy for mortals, but they will only have sympathy and mercy for mortals who are willing to obey.

Once mortals bared their fangs and showed their claws to them like those inhuman beasts, they probably wouldn't mind letting mortals see what they are capable of.

The majesty of a wizard is as inviolable as that of an emperor.

"So," Ciel whispered, "Victoria is working with the witch Thea - they want to challenge the old order established by the wizards?"

"That's right," Lao Deng confirmed his guess in an extremely serious tone, "The rare and exotic animals in the Zoo have decided to unite..."

"The witch and the holy sword they got by accident gave them the power to fight against the mages. After lying dormant for more than ten years, they decided to give it a try. They wanted to 'show their swords' against the mages."

"And coincidentally, an unusual incident occurred in Diesel, which is adjacent to Victoria, so the Emperor of Victoria sent the steam armored troops to Diesel..."

"Wait a minute," Lacie was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously raised her finger and pointed at herself, "So we just ran into trouble?"

Charles shook his head and quietly grabbed her hand:

"No, that shouldn't be a coincidence. The Emperor of Victoria should know that after Diesel showed abnormality, the White Tower would most likely rush to Diesel as soon as possible. What's more..."

He paused, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes, which he tried hard to suppress:

"What's more, the person who assassinated Rachel three years ago was most likely from Victoria."

"Eh?!"

Lacee was shocked.

She subconsciously looked up at Charles and asked:

"No, how did you know this? And why didn't you tell me such an important thing?"

Charles squeezed her hand and explained in a low voice:

"After you... faked your death, I asked Joseph to investigate. Didn't I go back to Conker some time ago to get the ring... Joseph's investigation just happened to yield results, and he told me that the person who assassinated you seemed to be from Victoria."

"..."

Lacey was shocked.

Is there such a thing?

The outrageous words she just said while being stubborn seem to have come true...

Is Victoria really the root of all evil in Pangaea? Can the Emperor be blamed for anything?

Now there is a gap between the emperors.

Although they are both emperors, Diesel’s emperor and Victoria’s emperor are almost completely different.

One is great, generous and loving, while the other is... so sinister, terrifying and dirty.

It's really amazing.

As Lacie thought about this, she gradually became as annoyed as Charles.

Putting aside the fact that Charles had been plotting against her for a long time and had even ordered the ring without telling her, just think about the fact that the assassin from Victoria almost killed Charles - if she had not been by Charles' side at that time and had not taken the initiative to block the sword for him, it would probably not be Charles but her who would be looking for a spell to resurrect the dead all over the continent.

"Damn you, Emperor of Victoria!"

The little maid gnashed her teeth and began to stab Emperor Victoria in her heart.

Then, without hesitation, she also grasped Ciel's hand tightly:

"I'll go to Victoria with you!"

Charles was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but smile:

"Ah."

At this time, Lao Deng in front of them couldn't help but pour a basin of cold water on them:

"Don't forget what I said. Donald is probably trying to provoke you on purpose. Victoria is eyeing the holy sword in your hand. If you really fall into his trap and rashly go to Sheffield, maybe..."

She did not reveal what might happen to Charles.

But undoubtedly, the best outcome is that he is left in Sheffield, and the holy sword he brings with him will be an excellent help for Victoria to rise completely and break the order of the old era.

Old Deng didn't think that Charles could fight against the entire Victoria on his own. Perhaps the previous generation of heroes could do such a fantasy, but Charles was destined not to be able to do it, because he...

He is just a fake hero.

Charles obviously understood this, but sometimes knowing that you can't do anything doesn't mean you have to give up.

He didn't even hesitate. He told the Lord of the White Tower in front of him:

"I'm mentally prepared. No matter what kind of trap Victoria has set for me, I will go to Victoria - for Uncle Elvis, for the truth of that year, and to seek an explanation for myself and Rachel..."

"I'm going to Sheffield, I'm going to meet the emperor in Victoria, I'm going to ask him...what he wants to do."

The brave man said it in a resounding voice.

Lao Deng was stunned.

The little maid beside the hero, Laciel, burst out laughing for no apparent reason.

Then, she let go of the hero's hand, hugged his arm tightly, and told Lao Deng:

"See? This is the hero, this is Ciel. He's stupid and stubborn. You're wasting your breath trying to reason with him. I've known this for a long time..."

She was a little helpless, but the smile on her face became brighter:

"But it is precisely because he is so stubborn that so many people are willing to follow him and become his loyal fans. That is why I want to stay by his side. So you don't need to persuade him, just let him go..."

Lacier paused, as if recalling something that she could not forget, and then she sighed in a low voice:

"Who can stop him? I can't do it anyway. After all, I have already..."

"I have already been conquered by this guy. Both my body and mind have become his property."

She added this half sentence in her mind, which she was unwilling to admit no matter what.

Lao Deng was silent.

She stared at Lacie, who looked like a little bird, for a while, feeling genuinely happy for her but also a little worried.

"It's only been a short time, and you've already fallen to this extent?"